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Global Xpress heralds new era for military customers

High-capacity services such as Global Xpress will herald a new age for military customers, predicts Inmarsat's Vice President of Global Xpress (GX) Government Market Development Peter Hadinger.

Speaking at the Inmarsat-sponsored SMi Global MilSatCom conference in London, Peter said that new technology, including the forthcoming Inmarsat GX constellation of Ka-band satellites, will usher in high-capacity commercial services specifically designed to meet the special needs of military customers.

The globally-volatile nature of asymmetrical warfare is placing unprecedented demands on military communications, he explained.  

Commercial solutions

The ability to deploy reliable, high-bandwidth services, whenever and wherever a crisis flares, is central to operational success. 

“With demand outstripping government system capabilities, militaries have had to rely heavily on commercial solutions until longer-term milsatcom investments came online. 

“Now, as we move into a new generation of military satcom capabilities, government networks are blending dedicated milsatcom systems with next-generation commercial satellite networks to take advantage of the best qualities of each,” he said.

Critical infrastructure

Inmarsat's range of services are showcased at the 14th annual conference and exhibition in London from 27- 29 November.

Inmarsat's soon-to-be-launched Ka-band satellite constellation will offer innovative, real-time use of multiple frequency bands that permit a variety of applications, including high-definition video transmission, which will seamlessly integrate with existing and future military networks. 

As a core part of resilient government network designs, GX will provide users with guaranteed critical infrastructure connectivity – assuring access worldwide no matter how stressed the conditions on the terrestrial network.

Global Xpress will complement the existing BGAN L-band constellation and will be launched in 2013, with full global coverage service available in early 2015, offering downlink speeds of up to 50Mbps, and up to 5Mbps over the uplink, from compact user terminals of less than a metre in size.